End All
by YAJJ
Summary: They were one big, happy (dysfunctional, messed up) family. A collection of one-shots featuring the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, Sora, Kairi, and Riku. Working title, rating may increase later. Requests accepted! This chapter: Destruction: Worst Day
1. Journey

End All

A Kingdom Hearts oneshot collection

**YAJJ**

_"Journey"_

Summary: That kid really needed to take a break sometime.

Date: 9/19/2014

Warnings: Cloud's potty mouth.

Disclaimer: Do not own.

* * *

Aerith really didn't want to question what she was seeing. She wanted to go on ignoring it, because really, would it be the weirdest thing that she'd seen in this house? It was just… there was something off about it. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on… it was right on the tip of her tongue…

"What are you doing with Sora?" asked Yuffie, bounding over to Cloud and Leon, who were carting the young Keybearer between them. Leon led Cloud over to the couch and stood at the head, while Cloud stood at the foot. "On three," Leon directed, not sparing a glance for his female companions.

Cloud nodded stiffly, arms shaking with the effort of holding Sora up. Even though he was only holding his legs, Sora was compact. He could fit a lot of weight into a small amount of Sora. Plus those clown shoes weighed more than they looked.

"One," Leon grunted, arms circling beneath Sora's pits. The boy, supposedly snoozing, didn't notice his bearers' struggles.

"Two," Cloud followed.

"Three!" As one, the two men dropped Sora onto the couch. The boy didn't move, even as his limbs flopped to the side, his head lolling off of the couch like a rag doll.

Aerith made a squeak of protest and made to wiggle over. That couldn't be good for his neck, _at all_.

But Leon was already on it, swiftly tucking the throw pillow in tight, catching the one Cloud tossed to him, and making a comfy place for Sora to rest his head. He carefully maneuvered Sora into place, grabbing his arms so they were both resting on his stomach. Cloud did similarly, taking hold again of the teen's ankles and putting them on the couch. Without a command or question, Cloud untied and removed Sora's shoes, setting them down beside him.

"What _are_ you guys doing?" Aerith finally asked, approaching the boy. Sora was sleeping awfully calmly. The few nights he'd spent with them, she had noticed that he slept lightly and tossed and turned. But that was nothing like this. He seemed... oddly peaceful.

Leon looked at Cloud, who wouldn't look up at them. The brunet looked up at Aerith, chin high, yet he looked sheepish. "Letting Sora rest." The conviction behind his voice was not only fake, but wavering as well.

"Uh huh. And, what. Did you find him sleeping in an alleyway again?"

Cloud turned further away. If there was absolutely anyone that he couldn't lie to, it was Aerith. Something glistened in one of his deep pockets.

"What is that? Is that—what, did you get him drunk?" Aerith couldn't believe that the two men, who were supposed to watch out for the little hero, could be so irresponsible! She also couldn't believe that Sora was such a lightweight—there seemed to be more than enough liquid left in that bottle judging by the sloshing stuff inside—but that was an issue for another day.

"Drunk?" Leon sounded appalled, Cloud looked disgusted, and Cid, who was carrying in a thick blanket as if he'd known this would happen, looked to be considering the possibility.

"Now that, Aer, is an idea. For another stop, o'course. Here you go, boys, spread out. And give me back the stuff!" Cid tossed Leon the blanket, who unfolded it, snapped it out, and laid it across the sleeping child.

Cloud shrugged, took the bottle from his pocket, and tossed it to Leon, who passed it to Cid. "Don't worry, Aer. Leon and I wouldn't do that. We're not that dumb. Cid, however..."

"Shut yer trap, boy, or I'm kicking ya out. I helped ya, didn't I?" He pocketed the bottle, but not before the label was read.

"Wait... you knocked him out?! Like with chloroform and everything?! Awesome! Man, I wish I woulda been there! It woulda been right in the middle of a battle, I woulda just covered his mouth, an' then a Heartless would come outta nowhere and I would kill it with a shuriken and then _we'd_ be saving _him_, instead of the usual!"

"Yuffie! We're trying to get him to rest, not kill him!"

"I said _I would have saved him_!"

Aerith didn't point out that it was normally they who saved Sora, just sighed a long-suffering sigh. "You knocked him _out_?" She cast her gaze to the tiny brunet, who hadn't moved. "No wonder he's sleeping so peacefully. Why did you need to do this?"

When Leon looked at Cloud this time, Cloud looked back. The blond shrugged, and the brunet replied, "It was the only thing we could agree on."

"And what is that?" Aerith asked. Now, she was genuinely curious. Normally, the only thing the two men could agree on was how much they didn't want to be in the same room.

This time it was Cloud who replied. "The kid needs to take a fucking break."

Aerith gave another, more prominent long-suffering sigh. She glared at Cid, and then waved them all out of the room. "Fine, fine. Whatever. At least let him rest." Not for the first time, she wondered why she'd been stuck with these people for friends.

* * *

When Sora awoke many hours after the battle, he found that his head was pounding harder than a hundred jackhammers. He moaned, but didn't open his eyes, leaning back on the cushy thing instead.

The air was awfully still, for being outside. Plus, the thing he was laying on was awfully cushy.

He shot awake with a shout, unsure of where he was. He almost called the Kingdom Key into his hand, until he noticed the domestic decorations and the all-around warmth of the place he was in.

It was a house. One that he recognized, even. And it was… _very_ warm. Very nice.

To his right, there was a wooden coffee table. On it, he could make out through the darkness, there was a glass of something, or maybe a vase, plus a square of a flat something, and maybe two tiny round somethings.

So he didn't have night vision.

He reached up, scrabbling uselessly, until he located a switch above his head on the wall. He flicked it, and a light turned on, burning straight into his eyes and worsening his headache. Awesome.

The glass of something was a glass of water, he discovered when his eyes finally cleared and he could see again. The flat square was a note, written in someone's calligraphy-esque handwriting. The two tiny somethings appeared to be white pills. Ignoring the pills and water in favor of the note, Sora reached over to pick it up.

'_Good morning, Sora,'_ it read. _'No doubt, you've got a headache. There are two pills on the table for you. Take them. They should make you feel better. I apologize for Cloud and Leon—their hearts were in the right place. Please, go back to sleep. You need the rest. And come get us before you leave, we'd like to say goodbye. Sleep tight, Aerith_'.

Sora quirked a smile, reading the note over again. He reached over for the pills and the water, downing them all in one go. He considered getting up to continue his journey, but… this couch was so _warm_, so _soft_, and she had asked him to go back to sleep…

Sora flicked the light off, scooted down on the couch until he found a comfy place for his head to rest, and turned over. He pressed his nose into the backrest, and let the warmth and the familiar scent of family lull him back to sleep.

* * *

I have no idea where Donald, Goofy or Tifa are. I was going to include Tifa, but she just forgot to make her entrance and I couldn't find a way to make her work.

Okay, this is going to be a one-shot collection starring: Cid Highwind, Squall "Leon" Leonhart, Yuffie Kisaragi, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud Strife, Sora, Riku, and Kairi. So far, I have 330+ prompts, around 70 of which have summaries. I doubt there will be 330+ chapters, but hey, you never know.

This came about because I wanted to practice my romance, so I was going to write a romance one-shot collection of my favorite KH pairing: Rokunami. So I went to LiveJournal and found a page of like 10 different lists of prompts, took a 50 prompt list, and am using it. I wanted to continue, so I did another 50 one-shot collection for SoKai, and another for RiXi. All three of which are in progress. But there were still a s***-ton of prompts left, and I fell back into my comfort-zone: Family. And this came about. Donald and Goofy probs won't be in it much, but they might be in a few.

Also, it's even weirder because it's not about Roxas. I mean, he might be mentioned, but it's not _starring Roxas and it's throwing me off crap_. I do have a chapter for him, so it should be good, but still. It's weird.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I don't know when the next one will be out, but I'm working on like 5 as we speak, so it shouldn't be long. Please remember to review; I'd like to know how this will be received, and remembe; all reviews will be answered via PM.

Finally, requests are accepted. I've got 270-ish open prompts, I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere.

Until next time!

YAJJ


	2. Morgue

End All

A Kingdom Hearts oneshot collection

**YAJJ**

"Morgue"

Summary:"Be careful. We don't want the next time we see you to be in the morgue."

Date: 11/30/2014

Warnings: Cid's potty mouth this time. Reference to last chapter.

Disclaimer: Do not own.

A/N: So I guess I've got this once-a-month thing going on... I'll work on it, I swear. I thought that I'd posted it a lot earlier, so I was absolutely offended that you guys didn't think this was good enough _at all__, _like _rude_. But it turns out I never actually posted it. Hah... oops. :) So, it's going up. I really like this own (why else would I be posting it?) although it seems to get a little dry at the end. Thoughts?  
Also, I love Aerith in this. I don't know why. She's just so... so... _violently motherly_.

* * *

One more leg, and the journey would be over. That was what Sora had promised them, and that was what Yen Sid had promised him. And, though Yen Sid was not always faithful about his promises, Sora was.

But one more leg meant that the opponents were that much tougher. Everyone knew that. Because when you're weak, when you're just starting out, they send the weak ones after you. They test you. No one started off fighting Maleficent; first, they would have to fight the Guard Armor.

And that was what scared the Committee the most. For as much as Sora promised that there were only a few more battles left, a few more enemies to fight, there was no saying those fights would be easy. There was no saying that those wouldn't be the fights to injure him, cripple him, _kill_ him.

Donald and Goofy made promises. Riku made promises. All promises, that Sora would stay safe, and healthy, and they'd be back to have a victory picnic on the rooftop, just like Sora wanted. More promises.

But promises were easily broken. There was no saying that Goofy or Donald could be there in time. That Riku would be able to handle an attack that he took for Sora. There was no saying that anything would work out like they wanted it, because this was reality, not fantasy, and as much as they prayed that it would turn out, life just didn't work that way.

"You guys, I'm gonna be fine," Sora assured them, rolling his eyes. They were all standing in the gummi bay. Goofy and Donald had already boarded the ship, Chip and Dale tapping their little paws on the metal floor. In fact, Sora was the only one not on the ship, toting his pack that the Committee had stuffed with Tents, Potions, Ethers, and Elixirs of all sorts. The pack bulged ridiculously on his back, making him look like a hunchback as he tried to carry it.

"You come back just as soon as you're finished, okay?" Tifa said, tapping her shoe. She was leaning against a shipping crate, her arms crossed. Aerith nodded vigorously in agreement, nearly in tears.

"We'll throw a party!" Yuffie said brightly, "with balloons and streamers and that freaky clown that Cloud doesn't like—"

"Thanks," Cloud interjected beside Tifa.

"And lots of cakes and food and ice cream and we'll invite the entire town, Sora, and I'm excited for this and that means you _have_ to come back."

"I'll be _back_."

"Sleep _regularly_," Aerith scolded, knowing that the boy didn't, "that's what those tents are for. Oh, and I bought you a book, it's in the side pocket, it's called 'Roughing It', and it's to make sure that you're eating well, even when you don't have a stove or a grocery market. _Eat_, Sora. If you come back and you're thinner than a twig again, I'll lock you in the attic and _stuff you like a turkey_."

"Isn'at a little harsh?" Cid pondered, then he waved a hand in front of his face, "you take goddamn good care o' that ship, kid. I jus' fixed it up, an' I don't want tah see it back in the shop."

"Right, Cid," Sora said with a semi-reassuring nod. "Not a scratch on it."

Cid appreciated the answer, grinning. "Atta boy. 'At's the kinda stuff I wanna hear."

Sora grinned right back.

It was Cloud who, after a few moments, spoke up next, his voice gruff and almost embarrassed. "Take a break when you need it, kid. I don't think we want to break out the chloroform again."

That earned a laugh out of everyone but Aerith, Yuffie chortling mightily.

"You can't go taking on Xehanort when you're too exhausted to move."

"I know, Cloud," Sora said, barely a thank you, but the man accepted it with a nod.

It was Leon's turn to speak, though the man wouldn't come up with the words. The girls were watching him, waiting for him to say something, _anything_, even something as tactless as 'have a nice trip', but the man wouldn't open his mouth.

Sora, recognizing that Leon didn't have anything to say—couldn't think of anything or otherwise—turned back to the ship, waving at his friends. This was the last time that they'd see him for a bit, after all; he had a big, bad enemy to fight.

"Be careful, Sora," came the gruff response, darker than Cloud. The boy turned on his heel to look at the man who had trained him how to fight. Leon coughed, flushed, and said again, "be careful. We don't want the next time that we see you to be in the morgue." He gave a meaningful glance to Riku, who sucked in his cheek, and Donald and Goofy, who didn't notice.

Sora looked like he wanted to say something in reply, opening his mouth as if he could possibly think of a reply. Then it snapped shut, and he looked back at Riku.

Riku heaved into the seat he stood in front of, shrugging. "Come on, Sora. We gotta go. Xehanort won't wait for us to catch up."

"Right." Sora turned back to his friends, who watched with pride, awe, and fear. "I'll see you guys, real soon. And it _won't_ be in a morgue, thanks for that vote of confidence, Leon. It'll be on the rooftop. On a picnic blanket. And it'll be _awesome_."

"Party!" Yuffie agreed, throwing her hands in the air to hide her fright.

"Right! And this time next month, we'll be sending each other postcards from home. _Don't worry_. Xehanort is as good as defeated." Sora gave them his happy-go-lucky grin. "We'll be back before you know it, with Xehanort's head on a silver platter."

"Hopefully metaphorical," Tifa snorted, nudging Cloud with her elbow.

"No promises!"

"Go kick ass, kid! You'll have to tell us all about it when ya get back, got it?"

"Got it!" Sora turned back to the ship, laughing when Riku launched out of his seat to grab his sleeve. "Bye!"

"Bye!"

Aerith watched as the ship flew away, her fist clenching nervously. She glanced back at Leon, who leaned against a wall. "You think he'll be alright?" she asked, furrowing her brow.

Leon shrugged. "He beat us when he first started, and we were training for years," he said, nodding at Yuffie.

"Me too," Cloud grunted. "He'll be fine. He's a strong kid."

"...Yeah… I just hope he'll be strong enough…"

* * *

Look! Donald, Goofy, and Tifa this time! Look at me go!

Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review! Remember, all reviews will be answered via PM. And remember, I am accepting requests! Some prompts include: Mellow, Eternal, Subtle, Stop time, Write, Bewitching, Jubilant, Helping hand, Try again, Puzzle... etc... Or, if you have a prompt of your own and want to see it written, I will not say no.

Thanks for taking the time to read that! Here's hoping my fellow Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and to the rest of the world, happy end-of-November!


	3. Destruction: Starve

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A Kingdom Hearts fanfic

**YAJJ**

"Destruction: Starve"

Summary: After crash landing in Traverse Town, Cid has less than a single munny to his name and three little kids to watch out for. But he would die before he let those kids starve.

Date: Christmas 2014. Merry Christmas, happy hannukah, happy kwanzaa, and whatever Muslims celebrate (if they celebrate anything at all). And to everyone: Happy holidays!

Disclaimer: Do not own.

I've decided to throw this in; it's been a while since I did anything like this, so...

Special thanks to: **Star-Shaped-X**, **xfallenangel13x**, and **unicron1000 **for reviewing, and to those who favorited and followed me or this story!

A/N: This is going to be the first prompt in a much larger mini-series that I've titled "Destruction", which will focus on the destruction of Radiant Garden (hence the name) and the aftermath of it, including Cid learning to deal with frightened children, Cloud and Tifa struggling to live on their own, Aerith stumbling upon Cloud and Tifa... and many others. I've got 8 summaries prepared so far, so if they all work out, this will be an adventure.  
The last part of this chapter is basically a summary of the ten years between BBS and KH1. It gets kind of boring and Cid-centric, but at the same time it's nice, having a background for future chapters. :)

Relative ages: Squall: 15. Aerith: 12. Yuffie: 6. Cid: ...adult...?

* * *

Cid crawled out of the smoking remains of the gummi ship, his cheeks stained and hair ashen. He was clutching his right arm to his chest as he used the other to crawl along—to be more specific, he was clutching his right arm to a little person who he held to his chest, pulling her clear from the wreckage. The girl coughed weakly, whining aloud when Cid finally dropped her.

He turned back, relieved to see two more kids help each other out of the disaster before them.

Out of one disaster and into another. Wasn't that just the way the world worked?

Cid had only just escaped the battlegrounds of Radiant Garden, towing three kids behind him. He'd found his way to a warphole and had been spat out here—wherever here was, anywho. The only boy, brunet with big gray eyes, had put his arm over the older girl. Now he sat on the ground near Cid, coughing fiercely into his arm.

The older girl was watching him, worry blossoming in her eyes. She looked back towards the younger girl, who was crawling over to her as though she was only a toddler.

"You kids doin' a'right?" Cid asked finally, surveying the three. The boy lifted his head and glared at him.

"Yes. Thank you," said the older girl.

"Where are we?" the little girl asked. She was clinging to the older girl like a lifeline.

"Don't know." Cid peered around him. They had crashed in a field of grass. There was a town right nearby, but Cid had never seen it. He didn't recognize the field, the town, or the feeling it put out. "Some suburban area, I guess."

"You guess," the boy scoffed, his coughing fit calming. He pulled his knees to his chest and crossed his arms over them, grumpily nestling his chin into his arms.

"Well, it's not like I meant to bring us here," Cid grouched, crossing his own arms.

"And where were you gonna bring us then, huh?" the boy snarled, glaring fiercely. "Back! Bring us back! Our friends are still there!"

"Your friends _weren't_ there. Trus' me, kid, I checked. You three were the only ones left," Cid replied darkly.

Honestly, he had no idea who these kids were. They'd lived in the orphanage across the street from his place, which was about five minutes from being swarmed with those little freaks when Cid had fished the kids out. When he found them, he'd pulled them out, set them in the gummi ship and told them to stay, and they hadn't minded. Probably because they knew he was going in for the others. When he'd come out empty handed and climbed into the pilot seat, the boy had attempted to climb out and go back in, but Cid had pushed him back and taken off.

In truth, and Cid wouldn't admit it to the kids, the reason he'd left empty handed was because he'd seen all of those kids. Little chests ripped open, missing hearts. Dead. All of them. The only reason, he figured, that the kids had escaped was because they'd hidden in a closet, and the monsters had gone past them.

The boy glared harder at him, and then he moved around so he could glare up at the moon, not facing Cid.

Cid rubbed a temple in exasperation. Why was he arguing with some kid? It wouldn't get him anywhere. For now, they had to find shelter, and hopefully someone to help check the kids over. The little girl still hadn't risen to her feet, and her ankle looked a little swollen. He was no doctor, but that didn't look right.

"Come on, kiddies. We need to find a place to stay and rest up."

"We're not going _anywhere_ with you," the boy spat to the moon. "Ma said to never go _anywhere_ with a stranger."

Cid groaned. "A'right, a'right. She had a point. Fine, 'en. The name's Cid Highwind. I lived across the way from the orphanage."

The older girl looked to the boy, who wouldn't look at her, deliberately turning further away. Then she smiled weakly at Cid. "Hello, Mr. Highwind. My name is Aerith, and this is Yuffie. That's Squall, but he's busy being upset."

"Shut up!" Squall said.

"Now that we all know each other," Cid said over Squall's exclamation, "we really shouldn't stay out here too long. Any of those freaks could have followed us."

That seemed to get Squall animated. He looked back to Aerith and Yuffie, who were watching him anxiously. "_Fine_," he groaned, but Cid could see the fright in his eyes, even in the moonlight. He was as freaked out by the monsters as the others were.

Once Squall had climbed to his feet and approached his friends, Cid leaned down to grab Yuffie, who had climbed to her feet but wouldn't stand on her right leg. He picked her up and shuffled the kids along, toward the town.

* * *

The town was called "Traverse Town". It was known as a place of rest for weary travelers and homeless people. The very first thing that Cid did was talk to a local citizen about getting them checked over. The man instructed him to a place called the First District, where there would even be a shelter waiting for him. Taking a crudely drawn map, Cid led the little trio to the First District.

A kindly young woman took Yuffie, who cried for Aerith, so the older girl followed them into a nearby tent, leaving Squall and Cid alone. Squall stood at least five feet away from Cid at all times, arms crossed and glaring at the ground. Cid tried to get him to speak, but all he gave were grunts and glares. Finally, Cid demanded to know why the kid was bent on hating him when he saved his life.

"You left behind my friends!" Squall snarled.

"Your friends weren't—! _Ugh_. Trus' me when I say this, kid. You don't want your friends here, in the state they are now." Decaying, maybe being devoured by those monsters, rotting away on their destroyed world.

Squall looked his way, eyes darkening into a glare. "Cloud and Tifa were out, stupid! You left them behind! I _saw them_ and you _left them behind_! Now, if they're dead, it's because of _you_!"

"You saw 'em?" Cid asked, confused. He sure as hell hadn't seen any kids capable of moving when they'd left.

Squall nodded darkly. "Yeah. They were coming back from the store, an' they were coming and you _took off_. I was looking right at Cloud and we left them behind. H-he saw me and we left them behind..." Squall started trembling, anger melting into grief.

Cid opened and closed his mouth, as if trying to make sense of what he was saying. Then he sighed. "Look, kid-"

"Squall," the boy corrected heavily.

"Right. Listen, soon as it calms down, we'll go back and find your friends. But if we go back now, 'en that'll put us all in danger, no doubt, an' I ain't riskin' yer lives jus' to find a couple of kids who might not... er, be there."

"But they'll be dead by then!" Squall replied.

"Then we can give them a proper burial. We're waiting until it's calmed."

Squall fumed at him silently, looking for all the world like a volcano waiting to blow its top, but he didn't argue. Insatiable grief settled over him like a storm cloud, and for just a second Cid stewed over the idea of putting his arm around the boy, but he rather fancied keeping his arm attached to the rest of him; it was bound to prove useful in the future.

"It can't be too long from now," Cid continued pointlessly, hoping to calm him. Squall still didn't say anything.

Aerith and Yuffie returned half an hour later, Yuffie looking like she'd been crying even though she sucked on a lollipop. She was riding Aerith piggyback, her ankle bounded in pale gauze.

"She twisted her ankle," Aerith reported, tipping a little toward Squall. Yuffie put out a sticky fist; in it, two lollipops were nestled. Squall took one without complaint, and Aerith let Yuffie pop the last in her mouth. "She can't stand on this leg for three weeks, but she only has to keep the gauze on for a few days. But we have to bring her back; they'll have real casts then."

"A'right," Cid grunted, chewing on his own unlit cig. He looked over the kids, who watched him almost nervously. All three of them looked tired. Yuffie was leaning forward on Aerith's shoulder, and Aerith's eyelids were drooping. "Well, if i ain't wrong, an' I don't think I am, miss what's-her-name said summat about a shelter. If we need to do anything, it's get you three to bed. Y'all look like you're gonna fall asleep standin' up, and I ain't carrying you anywhere." He glanced sideways at Squall, who seemed the most lively of the three, though his head dipped every once in a while as if he was a second from passing out. "Come on."

Squall glanced to his friends and nodded, going over to take Aerith's hand. When Cid headed toward a sign that read 'Refugee Shelter This Way', they followed without a word.

* * *

Cid had never had any sort of plans to have kids. All that he'd wanted to do was make it to space sometime in his short life (something that he did, indeed, manage to do early into his career), and then settle down with a mechanic's shop to ease into simple living.

And yet, here he was, thrust with three kids who needed him, who followed him around like lost puppies now that the threat was over. Well, the girls did, anywho. Squall, not so much. Squall stayed out in the hallway or on the streets, away from them, watching the skies as if hoping to see his friends sail down on a gummi ship like they had.

The worst part was that he couldn't find it in his heart to abandon the kids. The youngest one was only six years old, and had lost her parents to that flu epidemic that had struck Radiant Garden four years ago. He couldn't even find it in his heart to just let them do what they needed or wanted.

Cid had never intended to be a father, but apparently fate had other plans. Which was the only reason he was scouring the streets, hoping for a sign somewhere along the lines of 'help wanted' in a window. If he wanted to keep those kids off of the street and out of trouble, and Kingdom Hearts knows that for whatever reason he did, then he had to find a decent job, earn a decent pay, and set them up in a decent home.

The decent home and pay wouldn't come for many a year, once Squall hit twenty and Yuffie grew into her eyes, but a decent job was something that he could do then.

There was a mechanic's shop down the way, in the center of the Fourth District, that worked on old cars and trucks, mostly. The owner was looking for a few hired hands, who could lift heavy things and knew their way around a vehicle. Cid could lift heavy things (much as his back would hate him for it later), and he knew his way around most anything that had an engine.

Which was how Cid got himself and the kids started in Traverse Town.

He worked every day except Sunday, which Aerith demanded that he have off because apparently they needed to spend time 'as a family', if they could count as that. He worked long hours, and though the pay was small, he figured that it was well worth it. He managed to put Squall through another grade at the local high school, before Squall chose to drop out to work a job at one of the stalls in the market in the Fifth District, helping sell small homemade wares on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and every other Saturday. Aerith ended up making it all the way through high school, although she dared not continue on. By then, they had moved into the house just outside of the square in the Third District, and when Cid wasn't busy at the mechanic's shop, which he soon co-owned (the promotion had given them enough to move into that house), he was busy at the Accessory Shop in the First District, which he also owned. Yuffie ended up dropping out of school not long after Squall did, finding little point in it, and Cid decided he didn't have quite the authority to make her continue.

They lived, and eventually thrived, in Traverse Town, staking claim in it and garnering respect in it like few others could. And when the monsters appeared-the Heartless, they would later learn-they fought, to protect this new town, their new home, and the people in it, perhaps in memory of the many Radiant Garden citizens who had passed on, perhaps in memory of those two friends that they prayed had made it. Squall picked up a gunblade and changed his name, Aerith found a staff and learned beyond the necessary healing spells and treatments, Yuffie discovered the shuriken and trained to become a 'ninja master', and Cid… Cid found a spear and protected them from the sidelines.

He was no father, and he didn't really want to be one. A cool uncle, a much older big brother perhaps, but he was no father. But until those kids could stand on their own two feet, could manage the day on their own, he would fight for them. Maybe even after. Even if it meant working day in and day out, never resting, never sleeping, never stopping or taking a break, it would be well worth it to see the kids grow up, grow into themselves, their past, their present, and their future, maybe even become father and mothers of their own.

Until the day that he would die, he would fight for them. He would fight for them, and protect them, and damn it all if he wouldn't raise them, too, to the best of his ability. He would play father-but-actually-real-cool-uncle-who-would-smite-them-if-'dad'-came-out-of-their-mouths.

Until the day that they didn't need him anymore, he wouldn't let those kids fail.

* * *

Yup, a crap ending, but I can't get to where I wanted it, so I'll take it.

As always, please review! All reviews will be answered via PM! I'm still accepting requests!

Until next time,

~YAJJ


	4. Destruction: Worst Day

End All

A Kingdom Hearts fanfic

**YAJJ**

"Destruction: Worst Day"

Summary: Cloud was already having a bad day. Then, his city was drowning in black things with beady yellow eyes and he watched his friends fly away in a gummi ship…

Date: 2/10/2015 Sorry it took so long... but it's a doozy, so that's probably a good reason?

Disclaimer: Don't even try.

**Special thanks to**: **Star-Shaped-X**

A/N: It's a long one, hold on to your pants. It starts to fall flat near the end, but not nearly as bad as I had originally thought. I _really_ like this one. Oh, and if you think that Cloud seems really weak in this one... well, he's actually supposed to be. Explained later in the mini-series.

Relative ages: Cloud: 12. Tifa: 11. (yes, Squall is that much older than them. But he is canonically too, according to the KH Wiki)

* * *

Cloud clutched a pipe in his hands, swung off to one side like a sword. His heart was pounding loudly at him, as if he didn't already know how panicked he was. He felt Tifa pressing up against his back, supporting him in this tireless fight.

He didn't know what he was fighting. He didn't know why they were there. But he did know that they meant business, when he watched one of these things down two men by ripping their hearts from their chests. They would do the same thing to him and Tifa unless they fought them all off.

"How do you think the others are doing?" Tifa asked loudly, clenching her fists. Her fists were the only weapons that she had; she didn't trust an inanimate object to do what her fists could take care of just fine. Cloud, not so comfortable with these freaks getting so close, clutched the pipe tighter.

"Dunno." Cloud swung, and one of the freaks melted into the air. Two more appeared to take its place.

Tifa huffed, glaring over her shoulder at him. "Well yeah, _obviously_. Idiot. Guess. You have a brain, don't you?"

Cloud grumbled, swinging wide as two monsters flung themselves at him. He hit them both, disintegrating them plus a third, who was also coming for them from another side. "Let's focus on beating these freaks, huh?"

Tifa let out a battle cry without replying, shoving away from Cloud and diving for the nearest monster.

It took a long time, but they managed to fend off all of the nearby monsters between the two of them. Tifa leaned on Cloud, who was panting, hoping to pull enough oxygen into his body and not pass out. "We..." Tifa managed, threading one hand into his torn shirt. "We n-need to find shelter, 'fore more come... _back!_" Tifa shrieked when another monster pounced out of the ground, landing square on her chest and knocking her over. The monster lifted back one clawed hand and prepared to strike.

But apparently, Cloud was prepared first.

The pipe melted into its body, and it dribbled black ooze all over Tifa, who whined in protest. Cloud heaved his friend to her feet and got behind her. "You're right, let's go! More are coming!"

Tifa got her feet beneath her and took off running, yelling "we need to get to the orphanage, make sure everyone's okay!"

"Yeah." Cloud chased after her, still wielding his trusty pipe.

It took them at least five times longer than usual to get back to the orphanage, dodging a panicked populace, tripping over fallen bodies and debris, and fighting monsters all along the way. About three quarters of the way there, one of the monsters sprung at Cloud's back, throwing him to the ground. It proceed to tear his back apart, probably trying to get at his heart as the others had been doing. Blood traveled down his back in rivulets, and he had been lucky that Tifa had heard him over the yelling of the others. She had kicked it off, and he'd had to sit back for a few minutes, Tifa watching over him.

They reached the street the orphanage was on after a long, exhausting trek over a destroyed building that had once belonged to the baker. The orphanage was on the far end, after a mechanic's shop and a gas station, a restaurant and five houses. Cloud could vaguely make out the shape of what used to be the gas station, and they could both see a brightly colored thing standing before the orphanage, which was still standing.

"Almost there," Tifa huffed, and Cloud grunted in response.

"Whadda ya think that thing is?" Cloud panted, indicating the brightly colored thing vaguely.

"Looks like some kinda ship, like a gummi ship from up at the castle," Tifa hummed. She slowed nearly to a stop, though, when someone came out of the orphanage and climbed into the gummi ship. Soon, they heard the roar of the engine, and the gummi ship rose from the ground.

"WAIT!" Cloud said loudly, grabbing Tifa's hand and trying to pick up his pace, but he was already too exhausted to move much faster.

Tifa pulled him to a stop when it was clear the pilot didn't, and wouldn't, see them. They watched on in horror as the ship continued raising to a safe level.

Then, a brunet head peeked out of the side window, protected only by the glass, and looked down at them, clearly spying them.

It was Squall. Squall was _okay_. And if Squall was okay, that meant that Aerith and Yuffie were, too. That, at least, was comforting to think.

Tifa cried out in protest, seeing her friend in the window. Squall turned to whomever was piloting the ship and said a few words, but they must have been lost on the pilot, because he turned back and lifted one hand, pressing it against the glass.

Cloud looked up at him, sea blue eyes meeting with steel gray. He lifted his own hand, waving when Squall bunched his fingers in farewell.

Seconds later, the gummi ship blasted into the sky, taking away Cloud and Tifa's friends, and their last hope for salvation.

Upon seeing Squall's farewell, Tifa's chest started heaving, looking more or less like she was going to burst into tears. Cloud watched the sky, waiting, waiting for them to come back and pick them up because Squall saw them, dammit! He saw them!

But no one came for them. Once Tifa calmed down and Cloud came to his conclusion, he glanced to the orphanage. "Let's go. We'll be safe in there."

"...Yeah," Tifa whispered, following her friend.

The two friends scrambled over to the orphanage steps, being spotted maybe once though no one came after them. Tifa reached the front steps first, her longer legs and affinity for running propelling her much faster toward their target. She yanked the front door open, leaving it wide open for Cloud, and dashed inside.

Before he could reach the front steps, Tifa screamed. "Tifa!" Cloud called, bounding toward the stairs. He followed her inside, coming to a stop with a shout when a black thing appeared from the wall and latched onto his chest. He shoved it off quickly, swinging the pipe around once before he smashed his weapon into the creature's face. "They can't be here, too..."

"No, Cloud, they definitely are! They definitely are! Get out!" Tifa rounded the corner from the living room, grabbing his shoulder to drag him out. The boy yelped as he was shoved roughly out of the building. Before Tifa slammed the door shut, he spotted what she'd been running from: a wave of those monsters appearing from the living room. If Cloud wasn't mistaken, he saw blood dripping off of them.

Then, Tifa cut them off and fished Cloud off of the ground. "We need to get far away from here! We need that!" She pointed up, in the direction that the gummi ship had gone.

"Where do you expect to find any of those? Normal people don't just have them!"

"Where else?" Tifa grinned and pointed toward the center of town. The gummi ship bay was one of the biggest buildings in the castle... at least, that was what it looked like. Dozens of gummi ships were taking off at once, either carrying government officials and their families, or overstuffed with other citizens. "The castle has a ton!"

"What are we gonna do, break in? Do you know how many of those people are actually gonna get outta here?" Cloud indicated to the castle steps, where heaps of people were lined up, waiting to board an outgoing gummi ship. "We stand no chance!"

As if on cue, a loud roar sounded from near the castle. When they looked, a giant purple monster rose above all of the people in line. Earsplitting shrieks erupted from the line as the monster brought its hands down on them. Most that weren't squashed were lifted in its giant hands and brought to its mouth. Though several miles from the attack, Cloud and Tifa could still hear the terrified screeches as men, women and children were devoured by an unknown monster that stood taller than the castle.

Tifa turned back to Cloud, pointing backwards toward the carnage though she visibly wouldn't stop shaking. "No, Cloud, we stand no chance here. We have to get to the gummi bay."

In the distance, the creature continued its feast, roaring with triumph. More little monsters surged forward, but none had yet come to bother the two.

Cloud gave her a heavy look, his heart heaving. He looked back toward the orphanage, toward the monsters who were bound to surge out at any time.

"...Then we need to go now."

* * *

In the space between the orphanage and the castle, Cloud and Tifa acquired many injuries for themselves. The more injuries that they received, the longer it took them to make the trek. Making it through the remains of the city, over fallen buildings and bodies, would have taken long enough, without Cloud's soon-infected gashes in his back. As soon as those became infected, the trip was sure to double.

Then, a new monster found them. It was a little bigger than the ones that they had seen before, and this was protected by a metal layer. Cloud thought it looked like one of the soldiers from the kingdom army. They tried to fight it off, but the pipe got it angry, and its range was too long for Tifa to reach without putting herself at risk.

It gouged a nasty slash in Tifa's thigh that bled for a day.

More of these, and worsening, monsters found them, hurt them. In fact, by the time they reached the castle, fifty-seven sunrises had passed, and fifty-six sunsets. Tifa kept count.

The gummi bay was on the opposite side of the castle. Fate liked to tempt them like that. Most of the castle, thankfully, was clean of monsters. They hadn't even seen the outline of the giant monster in three days. Although that didn't necessarily mean they were safe.

They scrabbled through the remains of the castle with practiced skill, slowing every once in a while to give their damaged hands a rest. They spent five days in the castle, trying to get through it and to the gummi ship bay.

And on the fifth day... sweet, sweet relief.

The bay was even bigger up close. And it was very, unfairly empty. There was less destruction in this area than in the others, although the place certainly wasn't clean. They must have had guards posted at every opening. There were still a number of bodies littering the floor, but even considering that, there was less of a mess than on the streets, or in other parts of the castle.

"Is there one here?" asked Tifa nervously, peering around her. There wasn't one that she could see—ooh, they couldn't have made this trek for nothing!

"Yeah... yeah, there is! Look, Tif!" Cloud scrambled over a pile of rubble and slid down the other side, out of sight of the girl. When Tifa climbed the pile, she saw what Cloud saw: probably the oldest POS gummi ship to ever grace this world, and POS-ish as it may be, the fact was: it could fly.

Well, you know. Hopefully.

"Will it go?"

"Sure," Cloud assured, nearing the ship. "Not very well, but it'll go. These things, they're revolutionary, I guess. They don't use gas, they run off of... I dunno, smiles, laughter, happiness. Something like that. There's a sensor on the dash that picks up serotonin in the passengers that'll keep it flying. The more serotonin it picks up, the faster it'll fly. I mean, it still probably won't go very fast, even if we were super happy, 'cause it still needs a good engine and stuff, but... you know."

"That's actually... really cool." Tifa slid down the pile, keeping an eye on Cloud as he ran over to the ship.

Then, in the front window, just as Cloud approached the open hatch, Tifa saw movement. Buggish movement from a small, rather dark body. _And Cloud had dropped his pipe_.

"Cloud, _look out!_"

Cloud choked on a scream when a monster pounced out of the ship and bowled him over, lifting its claws to tear into his chest. It went for another one, but then Tifa's foot went through its head and it disintegrated instead.

"Cloud! Are you okay?" Tifa asked, hauling him to his feet. Blood bubbled out of his chest and pooled down at his feet.

"Fine, fine," Cloud grouched, pushing his arm into the wound. "I'm fine. Let's just get out of here."

"Yeah," Tifa huffed and rubbed her arms, looking the ship over, waiting for another to jump out, "let's."

Thankfully, or perhaps not so thankfully, the ship had no more living occupants. All who was in there was a dark-clothed man who sat in the driver's seat, his heart ripped out of his chest, blood pouring fresh onto the ground. His wide eyes stared straight out of the windshield.

With heavy hearts, Cloud and Tifa dropped the man out of the ship, tossing him to the ground. He would only slow them down. Tifa hated being so callous, but at this point, it was that or die. And they'd come too far to die here.

"Okay, now... how to make this thing go..."

"You mean you don't know how?!" Tifa demanded, her eyes wide as she turned on her blond friend.

"I barely knew what these things were two months ago, and I haven't exactly had the time to sit down and study!"

"Didn't you steal that book from the library?"

"Just to take a peek; it wasn't exactly the Idiot's Guide to Piloting Gummi Ships!" Cloud grumped, dropping into the bloody driver's seat. He glanced around the dash, hoping for some sort of clue. Then: "are you f—we need a key?"

Tifa whipped her head back around. "You're joking," she hoped, glancing back to the cockpit. Clearly, Cloud wasn't joking.

"Search that guy's pockets, maybe he's got one!"

Tifa leapt out of the ship to land lightly beside the dead man. "Sorry," she hissed to him, sticking one hand in his pocket. Finding nothing, she went about looting the other pocket. What she did find, though not a key, was helpful as well: a fairly full wallet. Cloud and Tifa didn't have a single munny to their names. If they were going to survive anywhere, they would need the cash.

She stowed the wallet away after taking out the ID, placing the card on his chest and apologizing profusely. She stood and looked up, just in time to catch a black body hurl itself over a pile of debris. Several more bodies followed. "...Cloud? Did you get it figured out?"

"I still need the key!"

"We don't have time! We've got company!" Tifa launched into the ship and reached up for the door to close the hatch, but her hand met nothing. Oh, of course. Another pleasant surprise to add to this perfect day: there was no door.

"Oh come on! Did they follow us?" Cloud demanded, starting to push buttons on the dash in the hopes that one of them would help. "And he didn't have a key, did he?"

"No. But I, uh... I stole his wallet."

Cloud looked over to her, blinking in surprise at the blatant disrespect. He bit his cheek and went back to the buttons. "We're so going to hell for this."

"I'm sure Kingdom Hearts will understand."

The buttons, naturally, were doing nothing, and the monsters were nearing. Tifa went back to the hatch and clenched her fists, preparing to fight them off.

There was only one solution to this problem that Cloud could think of, and he wasn't sure how well it would work. "Do... do you know magic?"

Tifa's chocolatey eyes glanced his way for a second. "A little. I mean, Merlin taught me a few spells after school one time."

"Thunder magic?"

Tifa's mouth dropped open when she realized what Cloud meant. "...No. I can do Blizzard, Fire, and Reflect, but that's really it, and they're not very good."

"...I'm not very good at it, but here goes nothing, I guess... _Thunder!_"

Jolts of lightning burst from Cloud's outstretched hand, and the gummi ship miraculously rattled to life. Tifa yelped when the ship started shaking, nearly knocking her to the ground, but she clenched the side.

"Put up your Reflect magic!"

"Yeah. Can we just get out of here?" A giant, transparent shield appeared around the ship. Any approaching monsters slammed into it and attempted to claw it away. The shield wasn't strong, but it would do.

"We need a good burst of seratonin, I think," Cloud told her. "Remember? Revolutionary machine? Runs on happy?"

"Just try thunder again! There's no way it's getting seratonin today."

Cloud did, and the ship launched off of the ground, straight into the air. It continued its ascent, bumping into the ceiling (nearly knocking Tifa out of the ship) before Cloud got control of it and steered it toward the large open door.

Once they were out of the hangar, Cloud let out a laugh, and the ship bumped up a little higher. Tifa protested the movement, crawling towards the front.

Of course, any happy that they had to provide the ship was instantly depleted by the rise of the giant monster that had devoured much of their town.

Cloud cursed loudly, attempted to steer away from the monster, but its gigantic clawed hand came up and struck the ship's bottom, grazing it, putting a hole right through the floor. Tifa cried out as the ship started to spin, but Cloud soon steadied it, and he drove it out of reach of the monster, taking off into space.

Tifa considered the missing door and the hole in the floor. "This won't be very good, y'know... if space is an empty vacuum like Trissy said it was."

"We'll be fine," Cloud said, although he, too, shot the openings nervous glances. "We've gotta be. Just keep your reflect magic up; that should help."

Tifa nodded and continued the magic.

As she had said before, Tifa wasn't very good at magic. She wasn't bad, exactly—in fact, as this was only her second time using any sort of magic, she was rather good, and Merlin would have been impressed—, but she had very little stamina. And stamina was what they needed. Though she continued trying valiantly, it simply wasn't enough.

They were over a world that had a giant mountain on it surrounded by clouds, according to the monitor, when they found a small meteor field. Cloud dodged the meteors best as he could, but the ship wasn't prepared for quick movements; Cloud wasn't for sure that it was prepared for anything.

It was just a tiny nick, so all in all Cloud had been doing pretty good, that sent them spiraling. A tiny nick on the right wing, and then they were spinning, and Tifa was screaming. The world on the screen became the world in front of their eyes became the world they crash landed into. It was a miracle that they hit nothing but the ground, landing among olive and fig trees.

The machine was wrecked. It wouldn't be flying anyone anywhere anytime soon. How the passengers had managed to survive was beyond Tifa. She was nearest the door, and slowly awoke from her collision-caused slumber. The world around her was burning, at least in her immediate vicinity. After much wiggling and turning, she freed herself from the bent metal that entrapped her and called Cloud's name.

Cloud didn't answer her, but it didn't take much time to find him, anyway.

He was still trapped between his seat and the bent controls. He was lying across the controls, one arm trapped between his legs and the metal, the other thrown up near the window. There was blood all around him, but then, there had been blood around her, too. And considering how much her arm hurt, it was probably still bleeding.

"Cloud," she said again tiredly, grabbing his free arm and trying to pull him free. He didn't budge at all, but the bent ceiling attributed to that. It was like the entire ship had been sucked toward Cloud, somehow. Tifa tried to melt some of the metal away, and then tried freezing it to weaken it, but she quickly depleted her MP reserves and gave up. A sob threatened to break at her throat, but she swallowed it. This was the last time that she needed to be crying. Not if she or Cloud were to live to see tomorrow.

She tried pathetically again to shift the metal around Cloud, and tried calling his name again. "You need to wake up, Cloud, we hafta get out!" But of course, that didn't awaken her best friend, who appeared to have taken more damage from the fall than she had.

Then, on the edge of her hearing, she heard voices. "What was that?" Whispers were coming to her, almost inaudible, but listening closely, Tifa could hear some of the things they were saying. "It's a sign from the gods!"

"Zeus! Zeus himself is trying to tell us something!"

"Not Zeus! Zeus wouldn't do something like this! _Hades_!"

Why weren't they coming for them? Didn't they realize that people were in there? Maybe they really didn't. Where had they landed, anyway?

Her reflect magic had long ago faded, so it was no trouble crawling out of the ship once she realized it was useless, trying to free Cloud. She slumped onto green, green grass, feeling relief at its soft feel. She weakly stumbled to her feet and moved out from behind the ship, to make her presence known to these people.

Around her were about fifteen scantily dressed people; men, women, children, older folks. A couple kids clung to their mother, an older woman stood beside her husband, and a rather scrawny-looking ginger boy stood beside a… goat-man?

She stumbled over near a black-haired man, who backed away from her anxiously. "_Please_," she said.

"You're bleeding," the scrawny ginger boy noticed.

"You have to _help me_."

"Get away from me, you demon from the Underworld!" the black-haired man exclaimed. The women backed her children away, the little girl whining loudly.

"Please," Tifa pleaded again. "My friend, my friend he's still stuck in there Cloud he's _stuck_!"

"You need to get bandaged," the older woman said, nodding and reaching forward, as if to lead her away.

"Not without Cloud!" she cried in reply. "I can't leave without Cloud _please_ we just got away from our homeworld it was _destroyed_ you have to _help us_…"

"I'll help," the scrawny ginger boy said, stepping forward. The goat-man beside him groaned, "Herc…" but didn't stop him.

Tifa herself was a little unsure, considering how weak and sickly this boy looked, but she didn't stop him either. She needed all the help she could get, or Cloud could _die_. "He's trapped in there, in the front, you have to help him please you _ha_—aahhh!"

Her scream came only when the scrawny boy put his foot on the nose of the gummi ship and grabbed the top of the windowpane. He pushed them apart, and the metal bent like paper.

"Careful the kid, careful the kid," said the goat-man, coming up behind the scrawny boy.

"It's okay, Phil, I've got it." There were a couple more groans as the apparently-not-scrawny boy shoved metal out of the way, and then he emerged with Cloud cradled carefully in his arms. Cloud's forehead was cut open and bleeding profusely, and his arm was bent awkwardly.

Tifa clapped her hands over her mouth and trotted after the goat-man and the strong boy when it was declared that Cloud needed desperately to see someone.

On the walk there, Tifa learned that this man, Hercules, was training under Phil to be some kind of "true hero", as he called it, and ever since he was young he'd had strength unmatched, given to him by the gods. She learned that they were in a place called Greece, and that there was a healer in Thebes who could look after Cloud.

She didn't just learn; she taught. She told them about Radiant Garden, and about the monsters, and about the gummi ship ("so it wasn't a sign from Hades?" Hercules asked). She told them about the orphanage and their friends, who they had tried so hard to get back to. Phil mentioned someone else who looked "out of place", a few someones actually, and when Tifa asked what he meant, he said "out of place like you guys".

Though confused, Tifa didn't press. Not even as she waited outside of the healer's home, waited with Hercules and Phil (and a flying horse, no lie. It came after Hercules dropped Cloud off) to see if Cloud could get better.

Cloud got better, at least in the bodily sense, although his mind didn't heal for a long time. They ended up staying in the gardens in this Thebes place. Hercules offered them a place to help them get started, but Cloud had always been reluctant to ask for help, ever since he was little, so they made their own way. Out in the unknown, on a new world, in a new life with new faces, new culture, so much was new. Nothing was old. Even their friendship was different, was new. She'd known Cloud since she had come to the orphanage, several years ago, but they had never been this close… and had never been this distant.

A few years passed. They passed slowly. They spent most of the time curled up in the gardens, watching the people go by, hiding away, hoping for some evidence of their friends though nothing ever came their way. They would go out and look for them, but they were so tired. So tired… Tired of needing to be the ones to look. Tired of being there. Tired of being alone, tired of being too proud to not be alone.

So, one day, when they got the chance… they were gone. They left Thebes behind, in the hopes of finding somewhere else to live. Somewhere better.

The few friends they'd made there wouldn't remember them. They had made sure of that. Clearing up their mess, making so little an impact that it was too much of an _effort_ to remember them. Yet, Thebes would always hold a special place in their hearts… their sanctuary, their prison… it may forget them, but they would never forget it, and who knows? Years down the road, it may be something to them—one of them, at least—once again.

* * *

Again, if Cloud seemed really weak and dependent, he needed to be. And if he didn't... well, damn. Oh well.

As per the norm: Please review. Seriously. All reviews will be answered via PM!

(Also, I got a tumblr! xD If you want to follow me and don't mind an influx of suddenly Kingdom Hearts (mostly Roxas though let's be honest I love that kid to death if he's not in KHIII I'm gonna murder someone xD ), the link is on my home page. I'll probably add any story updates, maybe drop a hint or two if people are actually there for the stories!

~YAJJ


End file.
